Blogs

I did not think it was possible to be more busy than we were before. July has been the most incredible month with second cut silage, our first ever hay crop and new calves arriving to be reared.

In my mind July is always a catchy month, with the majority of the last 10 or 15 years being very much a case of grabbing a bit of silage when you can.

Thank you Jeremy Clarkson and team for making us smile. A brilliant series – educational, emotional and I’m sure opened the eyes of many viewers to the never boring, extreme multi-tasking and financially unstable world of farming.

We have been keeping busy by topping, striving to mix and match cutting and grazing, hay making, preparing for silage and, as ever, fencing.

It was my birthday a few weeks ago and we celebrated by spending the day worming and weighing the last lot of lambs and tagging the final few calves before heading out for a much anticipated meal at a local pub for the first time in months, where someone else did the dishes.

This time of year is the calm before the inevitable storm of harvest; everything is sown, cows are outside, grass is cut and spraying up to date.

Looking back at an entry in a previous year’s diary is always a stark reminder of how two years are never the same, and possibly more so when you are a farmer.

It is already halfway through 2021; where on earth does the time go? This year seems to have flown by faster than usual as I have been busier than ever working on different projects across the farm.

The Red Tractor farm assurance scheme is something which often crops up in conversation in my day-to-day work, in much the same way the Rural Payments Agency does; usually in a way where the farmer vents to me about the organisation and its staff.

The NHS weigh Arthur, our four-month-old, every month to make sure he’s on track. He certainty is, as he is on the 91st percentile for growth.